The present invention relates generally to printers and, more particularly, to print media input/output trays utilized in such printers.
Printers of various types are virtually universally known. They are operated daily in thousands of business organizations, university campuses and homes. Many such printers utilize a front-loading print media input/output tray. Often, the tray projects from the printer housing, thereby increasing the space, or footprint, occupied by the printer. Such an increased footprint is tolerable during periods of printer operation but can be a limitation during times of non-operation.
In this regard, packaging and shipping costs are sometimes increased because of the additional space occupied by the forward projecting tray. In addition, increased costs are realized by wholesalers and retailers in the form of increased shelf space. Of course, for the user the large footprint is inconvenient because of the space occupied by the projecting tray during periods of non-operation.
The above limitations have been recognized and attempts have been made to mitigate them. In some cases, the printer and media tray are packaged and shipped separately in an attempt to reduce container size. While this technique can lead to some space savings, it introduces the disadvantage of requiring assembly of the printer before operation and in addition, runs the risk of the tray getting lost in the process.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a printer and print media tray combination having a reduced footprint relative to that of conventional printers without a need to separate the printer and tray during periods of non-operation. Desirably, such a combination would enable reduced packaging and shipping costs while increasing value to the user by reducing product footprint during non-operation periods.